Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11686 – BAOSTEEL / BAOWU ALUMINUM / KOBELCO / KOBELCO BAO AUTOMOTIVE ALUMINIUM ROLLED PRODUCTS JV) – Candidate case for simplified procedure
Date: 2024-08-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: China, aluminium, carbon, economic concentration, financial services, flat product, information technology, iron and steel industry, joint venture, merger control, provision of services








C_202405179EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/5179


21.8.2024






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.11686 – BAOSTEEL / BAOWU ALUMINUM / KOBELCO / KOBELCO BAO AUTOMOTIVE ALUMINIUM ROLLED PRODUCTS JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(C/2024/5179)


1.   
On 9 August 2024, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (‘Baosteel’), China, controlled by China Baowu Steel Group Co., Ltd. (‘Baowu Parent’), China,










—


Baowu Aluminum Technology Co., Ltd. (‘Baowu Aluminum’), China, controlled by Baowu Parent, China,










—


Kobelco (China) Holding Co., Ltd. (‘Kobelco’), China, controlled by Kobe Steel, Ltd., Japan, and,










—


A newly created joint venture Kobelco Baosteel Automotive Aluminium Rolled Products Co., Ltd. (the ‘JV’, name only tentative), China.




Baosteel, Baowu Aluminum and Kobelco acquire, within the meaning of Article 3(1), point (b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation, joint control of the JV.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:






—


for Baosteel: steel manufacturing, processing and distribution, information technology, carbon industry and finance,










—


for Baowu Aluminum: production, sales, research, and development of high-performance high-alloyed aluminium sheet and foil products and other aluminium and aluminium alloy deep processing products,










—


for Kobelco: investment in China, provision of services to Kobe Group's local entities in China and purchasing, sales, import, and export operations.






3.   

The business activities of the JV will be the following: the JV will be active in China in the manufacture and sale of automotive aluminium flat-rolled sheet, which is a high-precision aluminium product used for the manufacture of sheet parts (including outer, inner, and reinforcing sheets) for automotive car bodies.



4.   
On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.
Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified treatment for certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.


5.   
The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:
M.11686 – BAOSTEEL / BAOWU ALUMINUM / KOBELCO / KOBELCO BAO AUTOMOTIVE ALUMINIUM ROLLED PRODUCTS JV
Observations can be sent to the Commission by email or by post. Please use the contact details below:
Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu

Postal address:





European Commission




Directorate-General for Competition




Merger Registry




1049 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIQUE/BELGIË







(1)  
            OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

(2)  
            OJ C 160, 5.5.2023, p. 1.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/5179/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)